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Home sales bounce back

Existing-home sales rebounded in March after dropping significantly during the previous month. Sales rose 5.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.33 million last month from a downwardly revised 5.07 million in February, according to data released Wednesday from the National Association of Realtors.

NAR also found the median price of existing homes for all housing types — single-family homes, townhomes, condos and co-ops — jumped 5.7% to $222,700, from March 2015 to March 2016.

Joel Naroff, president and chief economist at Naroff Economic Advisors in Holland, Pennsylvania, says the lack of housing inventory remains a problem.

There is only about a 4 1/2 months’ supply at the current sales pace, he says in a blog post. “That is way too low. With supply low, it is not surprising that price gains remain quite strong,” he says.

Loan apps inch higher

Mortgage applications rose by 1.3% last week compared with the week before, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly survey. The unadjusted purchase index increased 1% and was 17% higher than the same week in 2015.

Sahnger says there’s been a surge in homebuying interest.

“We have a lot of people here getting preapproved (and) that want to buy,” he says, adding that the number of purchases and refinances is nearly even.

If you’re in the market to buy a home, it might be wise to take advantage of the current interest rate environment.

“I would be more inclined to lock right now if you were floating an interest rate, simply because we’re near the greatest rates that we’ve had in a few years,” Sahnger says.

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